Cutting a Tenderloin

1. Arrange an untrimmed beef tenderloin in front of you, with the tapered end to your right and the wider, butt end to your left.Landon Nordeman

2. Using a knife, trim off the long, 1"-wide strip of muscle, known as the chain, that runs the length of tenderloin; reserve for stew meat.Landon Nordeman

3. Use your fingers to find the seam separating the "ear" (the large, 10"-long lobe extending from the side of the butt end) from the rest of the tenderloin. Separate ear along seam.Landon Nordeman

4. Trim fat off ear; cut it crosswise into three 2"-3"-thick steaks.Landon Nordeman

5. Working with the other side of butt end, cut and remove 2 smaller lobes using same method as above; these can be treated as steaks and pan-seared.Landon Nordeman

6. Pull fat membrane off tail end; it should come off easily.Landon Nordeman

7. Slip tip of knife under the silver skin, the membrane surrounding most of the muscle. Tilt edge of knife at a slight upward angle; cut away silver skin in a thin strip. Repeat all over tenderloin. Flip; trim away fatty flaps from back.Landon Nordeman

8. Slice off tail and butt end from the thick center portion, the chateaubriand.Landon Nordeman

9. Slice butt end and chateaubriand into 2"-3"-thick steaks.Landon Nordeman

10.Cut a 4"-5" piece off tail; cut it crosswise, three-fourths of the way through.Landon Nordeman

11. Open this piece at its hinge so that the cut ends face up; tie them together with kitchen twine to form a steak.Landon Nordeman

12. You should end up with 13-15 steaks; most of them are filet mignon. Wrap each steak in plastic wrap; refrigerate for up to 1 week, or freeze for up to 6 months.Landon Nordeman